Obtaining Grid-Refs For Anywhere In Britain
Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2008 10:40 am
Obtaining Grid-Refs For Anywhere In Britain:
Working out OS Grid References for records has always been slightly problematical both in terms of the time it takes, the resources required (maps etc.) and the potential accuracy of the result. It is not all that easy guesstimating the exact position within a 10Km square to a six-figure accuracy.
However, such times are now past !! The rECOrd website has a data-entry facility (RODIS – rECOrd On-line Data Input System) to allow recorders to enter their own data (and to export it back to themselves as spreadsheets). Within this facility there is now a ‘new’ button next to the Grid-Ref entry field called G Map. Click this button and a window comes up with a map from Google Maps (hence G Map).
You can zoom in and out of the map, you can move it around by holding the mouse button down, you can jump to named places by typing in a place name (e.g. town). More importantly you can turn on Satellite View which overlays the map with satellite based overhead photographs of the area being looked at whilst still showing road names, etc. This means that you can, when zoomed all the way in, even see individual trees.
Clicking on the map will deliver a Grid-Ref at 8 figure accuracy (up to 10 figure accuracy for some parts of the country) and there is a button to click to drop this Grid-Ref directly into the data entry field in RODIS.
Grid-Refs can be obtained in this fashion for ANYWHERE in Britain !!! That should save the cost of buying loads of maps every time one goes away on holiday.
Hope it helps you in your recording. If you have any feedback on the operation of G Map and/or RODIS or any suggestions for enhancements etc. then please do contact the staff at rECOrd. Contact details can be found from the menu at the top of this page.
Cheers.
Steve
Working out OS Grid References for records has always been slightly problematical both in terms of the time it takes, the resources required (maps etc.) and the potential accuracy of the result. It is not all that easy guesstimating the exact position within a 10Km square to a six-figure accuracy.
However, such times are now past !! The rECOrd website has a data-entry facility (RODIS – rECOrd On-line Data Input System) to allow recorders to enter their own data (and to export it back to themselves as spreadsheets). Within this facility there is now a ‘new’ button next to the Grid-Ref entry field called G Map. Click this button and a window comes up with a map from Google Maps (hence G Map).
You can zoom in and out of the map, you can move it around by holding the mouse button down, you can jump to named places by typing in a place name (e.g. town). More importantly you can turn on Satellite View which overlays the map with satellite based overhead photographs of the area being looked at whilst still showing road names, etc. This means that you can, when zoomed all the way in, even see individual trees.
Clicking on the map will deliver a Grid-Ref at 8 figure accuracy (up to 10 figure accuracy for some parts of the country) and there is a button to click to drop this Grid-Ref directly into the data entry field in RODIS.
Grid-Refs can be obtained in this fashion for ANYWHERE in Britain !!! That should save the cost of buying loads of maps every time one goes away on holiday.
Hope it helps you in your recording. If you have any feedback on the operation of G Map and/or RODIS or any suggestions for enhancements etc. then please do contact the staff at rECOrd. Contact details can be found from the menu at the top of this page.
Cheers.
Steve